Teeth in the Back of my Neck

by Monika Radojevic

Written with profound depth and insight, the poems in Teeth in the Back of My Neck explore the joys, the confusions and the moments of sadness behind having one's history scattered around the globe ­- and the way in which your identity is always worn on your skin, whether you like it or not.

Bristling with tension and beautifully realised, Monika Radojevic's impressive debut collection is an introduction to one of the most exciting and impressive poets of her generation.

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook

82 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2021

Reviews

[Dessi Bocheva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked and agreed with a lot of the ideas shared in this collection but they weren't particular groundbreaking, instead of poetry it sometimes felt like reading a stream of consciousness

[curlynxte · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s currently past 1 AM and I’m trying to put the way this powerful poetry bundle moved me into words. This has easily become one of my all time favourite poetry collections. So many of these poems hit close to home and left me teary-eyed. Monika Radojevic has such an eloquent, gripping and poignant writing style, which makes this being her debut collection even more impressive. I’ll be recommending this to everyone and their mother as I wait for her next poetry bundle.

[Satta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teeth in the Back of my Neck is a fantastic collection of poems. I am very impressed with this collection. It covers a wide range of topics from womanhood, identity, race and belonging. My favourites being 'Men Who Howl at the Moon', 'To Be a Woman' and 'When'.

The poems are deep and hard-hitting. Original and emotional. They make you reflect on your own experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Highly recommend. Great debut collection and worthy (co-) winner of the #Merky prize.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the eARC in exchange of an honest review.

[Divya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these really brought me to tears. Felt super seen while reading this. Turns out I like books that are collections of poems- who knew.

[_sapphosangel_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

not sure on a rating yet, maybe 4? i found this hard to read tbh

[Lenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

the way some authors just have a way with words.. wow, genuine literary masterpiece! truly evoking a powerful resonance💜

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

CN: misogyny, racism, xenophobia, death of a sibling, mention of blood

The book is divided into two sections, the first is good, the second is great.

The collection covers history, feminism, Brexit, identity, belonging, grief.

I can't remember who recommended this to me but I'm glad they did.

[Inga · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Give me something better, so that I can walk a little lighter. Give me a world that places kindness on a pedestal, where exhaustion is not the perpetual state of being."

The author is exceptionally good at choosing just the right words to convey her emotions. It's quite impressive. This is just the kind of poetry, that you have to read aloud. I honestly hope to see more of her writing in the future.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful, hard-hitting, and intense. It's difficult to believe that this is Radojevic's debut collection; it is written with such knowledge and insight about the world in which we live, and the many things that shape us.

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teeth in the Back of my Neck is a collection of poetry that focuses on anger and sadness, on identity and history, and on the societal structures that hold us. Split into two parts—'The Teeth' and 'The Neck'—the poems explore things the violence and trauma that women face, the way women's bodies are seen, and how race and belonging are constructed and viewed in society.

The collection manages to feel varied whilst having clear themes, and the poems are written in an immediate and forthright way that gets across the anger and power behind them. Poems like 'Hell Will Fall Apart for You' and 'A Few Brown Bodies' look at how people react and how to get angry (or not) about things, and how to enact change, feeling immediate and memorable. The second half of the collection focuses even more on personal identity, history, and people's relation to others in how these are built. I found the poems that explore the importance of names ('Jane') and the idea of DNA testing and the self ('23andme') particularly interesting, questioning what makes a person and how other people react to that.

It's hard, despite the pun, not to call Teeth in the Back of my Neck poems with bite, because that's what they feel like: they're sharp, witty, and emotional, and even just looking quickly back through the book to write this review makes me want to read them again and again.

[Tine Putzeys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, give me words, give me more words. I have spent too much time reading poems that get confined by the boundaries of an Instagram box. I love how this book is so full, the words push all the way to the edges of the page, so overflowing that the margins need to be minimized.
YES
Yes to long poems.

The first part of the book resonated with me more in terms of content, but even without a direct connection I could still appreciate the writing style in the second part. It's been a while since I found a poetry book where I enjoyed the majority of the poems inside. And I needed to keep my notebook close by because it inspired me to write my own.

Good stuff.

[Sophie Pownall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first half, ‘the teeth’, and the second half 'the neck' take you on a journey across the globe by grasping at the heart of a multitude of problems … from what it means to be a woman to the horrific consequences of capitalism and oppressive societies on brown bodies. The words really bite through your conscious with their richness - which I feel is perhaps a bit lost on me (I was always terrible at English lit.) I am loved the book nonetheless!

[Audrey Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a physical copy on the way so I can write all of the notes I’ve been internally making whilst I’ve been listening to the audiobook.

Much like my last read. This was stunningly brutal. This is a hard read. But I was completely gripped by her words. She has something to say and she demands that you listen. The language is often cutting and grotesque and in some ways felt gothic?? and punk?? In a way that felt so current. I loved this.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

teeth in the back of my neck, Monika Radojevic


A debut collection about identity, heritage, history and what it is to be a woman.

This collection lives up to the name, a handful of serious, stunning bites. Profoundly written and put together this collection is truly remarkable. A worthy edition to any bookshelf.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems with bite, yeah I couldn’t resist a bad pun, but these really are hard-hitting, full of meaning and emotion, they often hit hard and they really make you think and reflect on yourself .What a great debut , thoroughly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Winner of the #merky books new writers prize. A series of poems that gets gritty with a few themes. It's angry, gentle and joyful in its prose. So there is a but if everything. Felt like I craved more language play as opposed to reading it as a stream of consciousness but I also feel hearing these poems performed would change the way I would absorb them.

[Abi Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Grief is a many-coloured scarf that sits forever around an uncomfortably warm neck,
which broke out in rash after rash
because you clawed at it when you were sad,
and you were sad an awful lot’

This poetry collection is beautiful, and such an interesting mix of simple language and poetic, fancy words. I really enjoyed it :)

[Shawna Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating, clear-eyed, and presciently resonant, this book astonished and moved me, and I find it hard to believe this is the author's first collection of poems. I hope there will be many more.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Adelka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very powerful collection championing feminism, racial tolerance and general social harmony. I highly recommend it to everybody.

[Rebecca Rijsdijk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatable, honest and raw. It reads like a stream of consciousness and that’s what makes it great in my eyes.

[Holly Lansley · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’m not intellectual enough to understand poetry :/

[Lorijana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love these. These poems are so powerful.

[Ar Ein · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Maeve Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some absolute bangers that even made me tear up in the library, and much better than the other 2 collections I read this week but this type of poetry is just not my cup of tea 🫖☕️

[Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiery, spirited book of female centric poetry.

[Ice · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed these poems this year, would read the odd poem on my transits. I’m still struggling to get into poetry properly so I can’t write a decent critique of this, but it was enjoyable!

[Wayne Fenlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest and hard-hitting.